


A look back

by anshsingh, Yes_it_Really_is_Feeney



Series: New Dimension [2]
Category: Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24929539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anshsingh/pseuds/anshsingh, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yes_it_Really_is_Feeney/pseuds/Yes_it_Really_is_Feeney
Summary: A look back to what happens in the old dimesnsion.
Relationships: Clint Barton/Laura Barton
Series: New Dimension [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1803382
Comments: 10
Kudos: 130





	1. Bruce

The general populace did realize anything was wrong until it was too late. People knew that food prices were going up, and that food was getting scarcer, but no one put two and two together. You take away half the world’s population you only need half the food that was produced. And you’re only able to produce half of what you could. On worlds like the Earth was even less than that, as in more recent years there were less and fewer farmers.

People were so happy to have missing family members back that they didn’t realize the economic strain that was going on. Stark Industries helped out as much as it could but after the tragic deaths of Pepper and Morgan Stark due to a Hydra sleeper cell the company went back to making weapons and not worrying about charities. It took the world three months to realize they were in trouble. Of course, there were others who knew before that.

Bruce Banner realize that something was off on the universal energy readings somewhere around the same time that Harold “happy” Hogan died. He vaguely remembers that funeral, but he was never close to the bodyguard/driver or even with Pepper. He completely missed the further destruction of the Stark extended tree with the death of Peter Parker and Harley Keener. He was there for the funeral of Col. James Rhodes and put up with the glaring and forced civility from both Pepper and the Avengers towards the other. He wasn’t sure why but he knew he was missing some piece of the puzzle on why the groups weren’t good.

He had been surprised with the announcement that he had a fifth of a percent of the stock in Stark Industries. Apparently Tony gave 1% of Stark industries stock to the Avengers on his death which was news to Bruce, although maybe he did it when they were actually still a team. He didn’t realize that there was something wrong with the situation until that one percent was used to help force Pepper from being CEO and install Fury in her place.

The fact that less than 24 hours after Pepper was removed from CEO, she and Morgan died broke something in Bruce. They could even have a proper funeral, not that the others pushed for any type of service, as it looked like the exothermic reaction of extremis got the better of Pepper and turned her into a bomb. They found faint traces of blood for both her and Morgan and nothing else.

He did find it odd that within three days of the attack on the lake house both of the Stark women were being declared that, Bruce wasn’t sure how that worked, but Shield was the one who had presented the evidence are not only that the two women were dead, but also who was responsible for the attack.

It took two weeks for Bruce to figure out something was wrong with report Shield had given him. And even then he probably wouldn’t have managed to make a dent in any of it without the help of Secretary of State Ross. The man came to his lab one night with a file and a list of questions. Questions Bruce found out he couldn’t answer. For the first time in years, he felt Hulk grumble in the back of his mind as Bruce ran over the file.

The file was damming. In it was laid out the systematic undermining of the men in the Stark family. The systematic way, Peggy Carter poked and prodded at Howard to keep him funding Shield, kept him producing toys and weapons for them. The file went on to talk about the assumptions Shield had that it wasn’t a car accident that killed Howard and Maria Stark, but they brushed it under the carpet, because it was more convenient for people, for Tony, to believe that Howard was drunk.

It was easier for the accident to be Howard’s fault, that way fewer people would question what he was doing and what was in the car that night. More damning was the fact that Shield had caught on to Obadiah Staines black market dealing and the fact that he was gaslighting Tony and had been for a long time and yet they did nothing because it was more convenient for them.

There were the notes on how they poked and prodded at the self-esteem issues they knew Tony had to keep him compliant, how they let Tony suffer for weeks with palladium poisoning until they could swoop in and offer him a miraculous cure-all the while making themselves look better.

There were the notes from Colson on how he used his friendship with Pepper Potts to undermine her belief and trust in Tony. There was the honest report that Natasha had written, the one that talked about the need for counseling, and with careful work how he could probably become an asset they could trust but that would take time. There were mentions of his issues and recommended ways to help him overcome them.

While most of the information the file was years out of date as it came from the Shield data dump there was one piece that was new. It came from somebody who was on the inside. This report contains information on the systematic buildup on Shield resources along with all the information pertaining to the deaths of Hogan, Rhodes, Parker, and Keener. The information was damning and painted a very ugly picture.

“How did you get this information?” The question comes out as a harsh whisper as both anger and agony war against each other inside Bruce’s head.

“All but the last file we’ve had for years, hell I gave most of it to Tony personally when he was contacted to work with the accords board. I might of thought he was an annoying little SOB, and most of you avengers belong behind bars but most of that was personal, and in recent years I’ve gotten good at separating personal feelings from the job. The only information we didn’t have at the time I gave him the file was that it was a direct hit against Howard and Maria Stark, Tony actually gave us that information, and the newest information on Shield.” Came the response from Ross as he sipped down a whiskey.

For probably the first time ever Bruce regrets combining with the other guy the way he did. After all before he was permanently green he could still get drunk he just had to be very careful because it was easier for him to lose control and let the Hulk out. “What you plan on doing with the information in the file? I mean I know you understand what this implies, and I know what this information will do for your career. You play your cards right with this file you’re the next president. So why show it to me?” The one thing Bruce can’t figure out is what is the angle Ross is playing.

“Have you taken a good look at recent quantum realm energy readings?” The question comes completely out of left field and makes no real sense to Bruce at first. And then he remembers the stability equations that weren’t working out. The gut feeling he’s had the last year or so that some things just not right. Ross gives him an indulgent nod when he goes to pull up the energy readings, and within seconds of checking the gauges he realizes what’s wrong. The quantum energy that runs through this entire universe is destabilizing and there’s no way to fix it.

“How did you know, I mean I’ve had a gut feeling that something was wrong but how did you know?” Bruce asks in a voice devoid of all emotion.

“Funny thing happened to me the other day, I’m sitting at my kitchen table enjoying my cup of coffee and reading the paper when a circle of golden sparks appears in the center of the room. Next thing I know I got that sorcerer that showed up at Tony’s funeral telling me it’s the end of the world. All the while he’s being held at gunpoint by my Secret Service agents.” There is an odd looking grin on Ross’s face as he goes on.

“The way he explained it to me was that destruction of the infinity stones cause the whole thing to destabilize. According to the calculations the world has at best six months. There’s no way to fix it. So it’s kind of pointless to run for president.” With a rueful grin Ross salutes Bruce with the glass he’s drinking and slams it back.

“At least we don’t have to worry about starving to death first. I don’t know how much of the environmentals you kept your eye on for the past seven or so years, but our planet is dying. There was so much damage done due to the snap that the world was trying correct, and then we increased our global population by roughly 3 billion people overnight. News doesn’t cover it much but globally we’ve already lost a couple hundred thousand to starvation. And the only reason the numbers aren’t higher is because of Stark Industries and their pioneering of smart crops that grow quickly and provide decent nutrition in just about any environment. We were barely able to keep our head above water in terms of environmental damage and just generally feeding people before everything got ‘corrected’. How bad this sounds what’s gonna happen is a blessing at least it will be quick.”

“I can’t tell if I want to get drunk or if I want to puke.” Comes the broken reply from Bruce

“Feel free to do either God knows I did. As did the president.” Comes the reply as Ross refills his whiskey glass. “In fact I’m pretty sure I’ve been drunk since I told the president. I have nothing to be sober for.”

“How did I miss this? I’ve known something was wrong for a while how did I miss this?” Bruce wonders aloud in a broken voice the enormity of the situation crashing over him.

“Did you ever think maybe you aren’t as smart as you think you are. I’ve noticed that about you brainiac types, you can be so smart and yet dumb about the simplest stuff. I mean the way my Betty tells it took you what six months to realize she liked you, and it would take even longer to ask her out if she had walked up and asked you instead. Or how about the fact that 10 years ago you scored higher on IQ test then you do right now, or the fact the Hulk whole was stronger than you are right now. In combining the two sides you lost something.”

There is a look of ‘you are a moron’ on Ross’s face as he continues. “I figured if the world is ending I might as well get drunk with my enemy. And you have my word, for what you think it’s worth, that my only thought coming here is to get drunk with you. I mean I figured this would happen eventually if you’d married my Betty.”

And so the two enemies spent the night drinking. And arguing and drinking some more, in fact Bruce managed to get drunk even in his new state, although that could require pulling out a couple of bottles of moonshine that were more disinfectant than alcohol. Thankfully the general stuck to his whiskey as opposed to Bruce’s homemade Everclear. Many of the lab assistants and the general’s Secret Service agents did find it funny that both men knew and were willing to sing the same drinking songs and that both of them reacted the exact same way to a hangover.

~~~time-skip two weeks(or so)~~~~~

It was very early morning, in fact still considered nighttime on the West Coast, when the alarms in Bruce’s lab started blaring. The on-site Stark reactor stopped working, this caused the backup generator to kick in but also the alarms to start blaring out warnings to either reconnect the power supply or decide which industrial grade walk-in freezers and fridges to turn off. Thankfully anything that was truly hazardous ran off its own independent power supply or is kept at all times in cryo- stasis unless it was being worked on at that moment.

Before Bruce could even figure out was going on with the reactor he noticed smoke pouring off of the computers and server racks. It appears they were all infected with a virus that causes the internal fans to turn off, effectively it melted all of the hardware, which destroyed all software. As if that wasn’t a big enough blow one of the on-site lab techs ran into the room holding a tablet opened to a new station.

“Boss you have to see this.” The young man yelled while shoving the tablet at him. Bruce absentmindedly notes that it’s not a Stark tablet the young man is using when the headline catches his eye. Attack on the last Stark blazes out from the top of the screen.

It’s a compiled video clip from inside Stark Manor showing men in black tactical gear emblazoned with the shield symbol clearing the manor in a lethal manner. The banner that runs underneath the video reads that men are tentatively identified as shield commandos due to the symbol on the body armor that have come to kidnap Morgan Stark from her rightful guardians Dr. Stephan Strange and Mr. Baron Karl Amadeus Mordo. Both men had been asked by the late Mrs. Stark to watch over and protect the Stark heiress Ms. Morgan Stark.

Phil Colson, although unidentified as for now, has a prominent role standing over a beaten and bloody Natasha, who is identified, and is seen on the video putting a half a clip in her chest. For second all Bruce can think is ‘wow overkill much’ as the last couple seconds of the clip play. And then he sees a different camera who has a different angle it’s Dr. Strange glowing with power looking at something just off camera.

For just a second a tall black man drifts into the edge of the screen where Strange is looking. It vaguely looks like he’s holding something, but he’s gone so quickly no confirmation can be made on that. A noise catches Strange’s attention from the other direction than he was originally looking, his eyes dart over to the opposite corner and back to the black man “GO” he yelled at the man as he spins around facing the direction the noise came from. There’s a bright flash of color and then the camera dies.

The news anchor comes back on opening with the words “there you have it folks it is unknown at this time where Morgan Stark is but apparently she survived the attack on her family’s lake home that took her mother from her. It appears that her father’s teammate Natasha Romanoff, known as the black widow, knew where she could be found and was on location providing bodyguard services to the young Stark and her new guardians. It appears she gave her life to protect the young Stark. It is unknown currently who the attackers were or where Morgan is at this time. The only other person identifiable in this video appears to be Dr. Stephan Strange renowned neurosurgeon who had to retire due to a car accident that caused severe nerve damage. It is unknown at this time is he survived the attack on the house. We have a news crew heading to the Long Island Stark Manor now to hopefully get more information on situation.”

Bruce very quickly understood why they no longer had power at the facility. In fact he very quickly understood that if it hasn’t already happened very soon the world will be out is going to be without any type Stark power. Bruce is also pretty sure that the last clip is fake or at least partially fake, after all Strange knows the universe was ending, and he also knows that the only place Shield wouldn’t be able to get a hold of Morgan was if she was off planet and unfortunately all of their allies who could get her off planet haven’t been responding to any type of transmissions. Bruce’s sure about in this moment is that Ross was right there really wasn’t the real reason to stay sober.


	2. Clint Barton

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clint's POV in the old dimension.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys this is yes it’s really Feeney here is the next chapter to a look back. I was partially inspired by what we're doing with Clint in the original story I was also really heavily inspired by order 66 fix it for the Star Wars universe. So my version of movie Clint is a little less responsible for his own actions due to Wanda. Thank you so much to my fellow writing partner for editing and posting this for me I hope you all enjoy it.

  
For a long time, Clint had known there was something wrong with him. Even before the clusterfuck that was the invasion and the things Loki did, he had known he had aggression issues. Honestly, his father was the same way; not that he liked to talk about his father or admit they were anything alike. He tried to channel the aggression into his job as best he could and with SHIELD, it worked fabulously for a long time.  
  
  
  
It ended up working out so well that he felt comfortable getting married and even starting a family. He didn’t have to fear taking his aggression out on them. After Loki’s attempted invasion things got a little tougher but he sucked it up and dealt with the psych eval, i.e. he lied his way through it, and devoted himself a little more to his job. Tony's offer of residence in the Tower helped him much more than anything else. Then child number two came and he started focusing back on his job, instead of the frustration that he could feel building in the back of his brain whenever he was alone for too long.  
  
  
  
Laura was pregnant with child number three when the mess that was Ultron went down. And for the first time in what felt like years, he wasn’t angry anymore. He was so comfortable that he thought he could retire, stay with his family full-time and never worry about accidentally hurting them or scaring them. But about two months after that fight, things started to change.  
  
  
  
Clint always had good control over most of his emotions, it came from being a sniper. The first change that he noticed was the downswings. He was a little bit more emotional now and he felt like crying a little more easily now. At first, he thought it was just because he wasn’t getting as much sleep as he used too now that there was a new baby in the house, but then he started paying attention.  
  
  
  
He started noticing all the changes at the times he was playful or silly with his kids, times he was frustrated mostly, but it never with his family. He was confused about it but he didn’t know exactly why. None of the swings ever lasted long so they never really concerned him. He didn’t think anything of it, it was odd but maybe it was just how he got used to being home full-time. He didn’t have to worry about scaring his children so having a slightly different emotional balance was okay. he figured he’d level out soon enough no need to worry anyone.  
  
  
  
By the time he realized that there was something else going on, he realized he couldn’t tell anyone about it. He was simply unable to. Not to Laura or Natasha, not Sam or even Tony. He was able to mention it to Cap who brushed it off as almost a figment of Clint’s imagination. Especially when he made a vague implication that it hadn’t been like this before Wanda showed up.  
  
  
  
That’s when Clint started to realize there was something really wrong. He was called Hawkeye for reason, and it was far more than the fact that he had amazing eyesight. It didn't take him long to notice that whenever he talked about Wanda to any of the others, there was always something kept him from saying anything negative about the “poor girl”. His teammates always had a slightly glazed look in their eyes at those moments. Almost like they were reciting hypnotic suggestion and not their own thoughts about the witch.  
  
  
  
Now Clint had originally felt bad for the girl. It was a difficult situation she’d ended up in. She and her brother, both had needed help. Pietro, he became a true hero in the end sacrificing himself to save not only Clint’s life the life of a child as well. That was part of the reason why Clint gave his son the middle name as Pietro, for a hero who should be remembered. But now, the more Clint looked into Scarlet Witch the more he realized that she was neither a victim nor a hero but he couldn’t tell anyone about his thoughts.  
  
  
  
He had tried more than once to bring her past up to anyone in the group but it was ignored summarily once Tony and Bruce left the Avengers. Soon after that he tried to mention it to his wife but was unable to even tell her that anything was wrong. His own mind wouldn’t let him call Tony about it, let alone talk to him. Nat was out the only one he could really talk to. He spoke with her about his family and how they were doing. During the conversation, he was able to give her subtle clues to ask him direct questions, but she never caught on. Whether that was on her or due to something else he did not know.  
  
  
  
Then he attempted to confront Wanda about what she was doing to him, what she was doing to all of them. It was a big mistake. He had visited the compound for some reason and saw a solid chance to talk to her when he found her sitting alone in the compound’s kitchen. With no one else around, his voice and thoughts were his own. While he could admit he should have probably asked her more diplomatically, but the anger overrode everything. Not that it did anything good. All he managed to get out was “what the hell did you do to us” before his vocal cords seem to stop working all on their own.  
  
  
  
Wanda giggled creepily.  
  
  
  
“Poor little Archer. I’m making you better. I’m making all of you better. You have such poor taste decisions and I’m helping you make better ones.”  
  
  
  
And then she gave him a smile that would look good on faces of unhinged criminal he had faced in the past.  
  
  
  
“And no one is going to stop me let me show you what will happen if you try.”  
  
  
  
His body seemed to lock up as he lost all control. Wanda slowly walked towards him with the smile never leaving her face. Her red magic slowly creeped out of her hands and blazed in her eyes. What came next was a nightmare that felt like it lasted for hours although, in reality, it was over in minutes. In the nightmare he saw himself, but he was just so angry, and then his daughter said something, something innocent and silly and it caused him to snap. He came out of the nightmare with a shout on his lips and the feel of his family’s blood sticky on his hands. It wasn’t him he knew that, but it was what he feared would happen one day. He looked at Wanda feeling disgusting and used.  
  
  
  
The witch was back to calmly sitting at the table eating the apple she had in her hands.  
  
  
  
“You’re not going to tell anyone because you do not want to make that nightmare a reality, Barton. Not that any of them would believe you, after all, according to the good captain, I’m just an innocent young girl who was tricked and used by the big mean people in Hydra so I deserve a second chance to be a hero. That is if you ever gain enough autonomous control of yourself to try to tell anyone anyway. It does make me wonder though if Captain America is this gullible, how pathetic was the red skull that he couldn’t beat the Captain.”  
  
  
  
Almost as an afterthought, she stopped him when he went to leave the room, although how much of him leaving the room was his own choice or her wanting him gone, he had yet to decide.  
  
  
  
“I suppose I should thank you by the way. If you and that little brat hadn’t been in trouble, Pietro would probably still be alive and then I’d have to keep on controlling him like I’m controlling all of you. He was always so much harder to control you know. It was partially because of how our gifts work and partially because well he was my brother. Anyway, now you can leave, little Archer, and don’t bother coming back until the captain calls you.”  
  
  
  
The next few hours were a blur as he made his goodbyes and let Steve know that if he is needed then all the man needed to do was call. He didn't fully come back to himself until he was almost home. In truth, the whole experience practically terrified him. The way Steve seemed to be handling everything brought up a lot of concern. How did the famous Captain didn't realize what type of snake he brought into his house; he had no idea.  
  
  
  
It took a while and a lot of effort, but Laura finally seemed to catch on to what he is very carefully not saying. The only good thing about the whole situation was the fact that his temper was practically nonexistent. He didn't really get angry or feel any other negative emotion and while he was concerned that somehow Wanda still had control, he was thankful that he didn't have to worry about hurting his family. When news of the accords starts coming out, he rejoiced. Maybe this will finally bring attention to what Wanda was doing to the rest of the team and him.  
  
  
  
When the Captain's phone call comes in, Laura was standing right next to him. She had seen how he was fighting to stay there and how much it hurt him to try to fight the compulsion that was in his brain. She had signed to go, be safe, come home soon, I love you, releasing him to whatever obligation the witch had planted in his brain.  
  
  
  
Off he went to rescue the witch, rescue that was such BS given that she was living in the lap of luxury. He knew what prison meant, given that he has been in jail both in the United States and in other countries while on SHIELD missions. The Captain had said that Tony was supposed to be practically holding her hostage and yet when had watched her for more than an hour, all she had done was enjoyed the luxuries Tony had provided and flirted with the Android.  
  
  
  
Clint was not sure how he felt about Vision and frankly, that thing in his forehead was also a cause for concern in Clint’s opinion. He also couldn't help but wonder what Wanda's game was with this one. It may have had some reason with Stark's old computer program, then again, maybe she just wanted to play house. Clint had figured that Jarvis was very much like a little brother or son to Tony, so Wanda twisting Vision up around her finger gave her something to play with and had the added effect of hurting Tony Stark.  
  
  
  
Once the last office worker had left, Clint could not put off his rescue any longer. Much of what happened in the following hours was a bit of a blur for him. All he had was a vague memory of being a complete ass to Stark and hoping that someone would catch his odd behavior, but somehow the rest of the team was just willing to roll with his anger. That was the other odd thing, his anger was back even if it didn’t feel like it belonged to him. And while he couldn’t bring his concerns about his anger or the other oddities he had been noticing more and more lately, he had let his Majesty know that he was willing to make a deal with the UN and would take whatever punishment necessary so that he could go home to his family.  
  
  
  
Thankfully he got that idea out before Wanda could change his mind and as soon as he said it, the ant dude agreed with him, which gave him even more leeway. Whatever had been in that collar he didn't know, but it had seemed to throw Wanda and her powers off their normal standards. A few careful words once they had boarded the plane and were away from the others warned Scott off, about the witch particularly. Thankfully the man understood rather quickly and kept him busy, which allowed Clint to not worry about the minefield that was his own mind.  
  
  
  
The next two years on house arrest helped him calm a lot, giving him enough to figure out exactly what he was going to do. And then in the blink of an eye, all his plans crashed as everything changed. His family blew away in dust and then his anger came back in an uncontrollable manner. Clint didn't know if it was because it’s been so long since he had felt angry or if it was something else, but he was unable to control him. He managed to get away from the house before he physically reacted. It let him clear his head for a while but once he returned, he could feel the anger building again. Something was wrong not just with the entire situation but with him as well.  
  
  
  
He destroyed the tracking bracelet to get across the country to the Avengers compound. Finding no one there except Friday he had managed to ask her in a hoarse voice about everything that had happened. She had explained everything to him in a cool voice. Once she had stopped speaking, he had told her everything he had figured out or assumed about Wanda and the rest of the team. After a little hesitation, he had told her about what was happening to him explaining that the anger that wasn't going away no matter what he did. How he was still so angry at everything that he had to stop himself from hurting someone. After a few minutes, FRIDAY had enquired about what he planned to do.  
  
  
  
“See if I can find a target. Maybe if I can channel this at somebody who deserves it, I won’t hurt someone innocent.”  
  
  
  
Surprisingly enough Friday had agreed quietly, asking if he’d like some help or at least a list of targets to start with. When Clint had questioned her on that, she told him that she liked to follow the news and was tired of seeing evil men hurt innocent people. An offer was made by her then, she would give him a list of child traffickers and people trying to set up sex slave operations, and in return, he would let her track him so that if he turned into a monster she knew exactly where to send someone to stop him. He had agreed to it wholeheartedly.  
  
  
  
And so five years went by with Clint hunting down child sex operations and pedophile rings one after another. It never stopped the anger, but it did keep it focused and away from innocent people. Then one day he looked up and there was Tasha, offering him a very deadly thing…Hope.  
  
  
  
His offer to sacrifice his own life on Vormir was twofold. It would allow them to bring his family back, but it would also keep him out of the witch’s hands. Unfortunately, even though the woman was dead for five years, her compulsions on Clint’s mind were still strong.  
  
  
  
Even after the final battle with Thanos, he couldn’t tell anyone what was really going on with him. Thankfully his wife had remembered and was able to quickly pull him away from everything and they were back to the family farm. When he had told her about the last five years, she had been silent for a long time. Two days later she told him that she understood what he had done and why he didn’t want anything to do with his so-called teammates anymore.  
  
  
  
With the Witch back, he was forced to play nice for a small time. Thankfully, he didn't have to see her much as she was obsessing over getting Vision back. The group got back together once again for the funeral of Happy Hogan, Starks's old bodyguard who had died protecting Starks wife and kid. The kick in the teeth was the fact that when Rogers returned to stone Tasha was returned as well, not that anyone bothered to tell him. No matter how much he wanted to offer his condolences for the death of a good man, the mess that was in his head didn't let him pay attention to anything. He ignored everything else coming from the Stark camp until James Rhodes died. He was on a mission with the Avengers and had to deal with a bomb. He had seen the video of the incident through Natasha, observing that no other person had offered to help the Colonel.  
  
  
  
Colson showing up at his house offering him a job was a shock but he was uninterested. When Tasha showed up and started asking very careful questions, he figured she finally got a clue about what the witch was really like. Hearing about Potts’s death so soon after the other funerals made him wonder what was really going on, but seeing Colson shoot Natasha on a video released to the news agency brought up the idea of something he’d always suspected. SHIELD wasn’t the good guys as they made themselves out to be.  
  
  
  
The destruction of every piece of Stark technology after the attack on the mansion didn’t come as a surprise to him when the pieces were put together. Some of those pieces being files that had years’ worth of information in them. The entire collection, which was made by Tony Stark was uploaded on the internet. This data dump was far more thorough than the one from SHIELD. He did not fail to notice a lack of any information on himself. It seems Friday did remember their conversations and maybe cared enough for him. A couple of days after that a sorcerer dude named Wong showed up at his home. He offered to check Clinton’s head out for any trace of Loki or Wanda or anything else that wasn’t strictly Clinton Francis Barton.  
  
  
  
With almost a sob of relief, Clint had agreed and a couple of minutes later he felt like himself for the first time in a long time.  
  
  
  
“That is a rather nasty magical infection she had going in your head. If I had more time I would find two-bit sorceress and punish for what she did, but there’s no real point to it now.” Came the rather blasé comment from Wong.  
  
  
  
“What you mean no point? How could you not want to stop her from doing this to someone else isn’t that your job?” Clint had sputtered in a furious voice, all the while marveling at the fact that he felt a wave of true anger for the first time in so long.  
  
  
  
“This dimension, Barton, has destabilized too much. Between how long it took to get the stones back, combined with the fact that the stones were not wished back into existence, but instead left to be scattered, and finally time travel screwup because of the Avengers, this reality is too far destabilized. It’s quite literally falling apart. There’s only a matter of weeks left to it, and before you say anything, no we can’t fix it, no one can. The two strongest sorcerers we had sacrificed themselves five days ago, using their life energy to send Morgana Stark to a new reality. Friday has gone along with her. Hopefully, that new reality will have a better shot than ours did, as FRIDAY has information about everything that went wrong. I know it’s little comfort to you, but no one’s going to feel a thing when it happens. My suggestion is that ignore the world, Barton, and stay here with your family. Enjoy the time we all have left.”  
  
  
  
After a minute or two more of quiet conversation between the two men, Wong took his leave. He had stared outside for a long time, his thoughts fixed on the small girl and A.I. who had escaped this reality.  
  
  
  
"Godspeed FRIDAY. Thank you for everything you did for me."  
  
  
  
Later that night, curled up together in bed, Clint told his wife everything. Not just conversation he had with Wong, but everything he had done all the way back to when he was working at the circus. He bared his soul for her judgment, explaining that if they were to die he would not go in the dark keeping any secrets from her. He did not want to die with her loving him and yet not knowing what he truly was. Three weeks later, she was still by his side when the world quietly turned to dust around them. Wong was right; they never felt a thing.


End file.
